“ The human heart may find here and there a resting-place short of the highest height of affection, but we seldom stop in the steep, downward slope of hatred. ”
Honoré de Balzac, Father Goriot (1835). copy citation
| Author | Honoré de Balzac |
|---|---|
| Source | Father Goriot |
| Topic | heart hatred |
| Date | 1835 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translated by Ellen Marriage |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1237/1237-h/1237-h.htm |
Context
“The Countess seemed to have been a judge of character. Mme. Vauquer's aversion was naturally more energetic than her friendship, for her hatred was not in proportion to her love, but to her disappointed expectations. The human heart may find here and there a resting-place short of the highest height of affection, but we seldom stop in the steep, downward slope of hatred. Still, M. Goriot was a lodger, and the widow's wounded self-love could not vent itself in an explosion of wrath; like a monk harassed by the prior of his convent, she was forced to stifle her sighs of disappointment, and to gulp down her craving for revenge.”
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Meaning and analysis
